| MadSci Network: General Biology |
If a blood donor is alergic to nuts dose this affect the blood reciever?
No. Allergies are the result of inappropriate antibody formation in response to certain antigens. If someone is allergic to nuts, it is because they have produced IgE antibodies to some protein(s) in nuts. Most of these antibodies become bound to basophils or tissue mast cells. When antigen (i.e., nut proteins) binds to the IgE bound to the basohils or mast cells, the cells "degranulate" (release chemicals that cause allergy symptoms) to produce the reaction.
Receiving blood from an allergic person transfers very little IgE and the number of basophils in the blood is few, so that no significant reaction is possible. Therefore, there is no donor restriction for those who suffer from allergies. However, many other conditions do influence one's ability to donate. Those conditions may be found at the link below:
http://www.cc.nih. gov/dtm/html/canidont.htm
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